The holidays have come early for Democratic officials across America who get to play with their shiny new toys of never-ending "public health" regulations. Coronavirus has transformed into a magic wand allowing the left to make those pesky freedoms guaranteed in the Constitution simply disappear. Any conceivable limit, ban or restriction they can dream up can now be imposed on their citizens without mercy or restraint in the name of preventing the spread of COVID. Whether it is destroying businesses, annihilating livelihoods or even makes any sense at all is of no importance to Democratic officials wielding this new superpower.
Constitutional rights that limit governments' ability to interfere in Americans' lives has been a source of frustration to liberals for decades, going back to the Roosevelt administration's policies in the 1930s. By the 1960s, leftist agitators asserted their freedom to protest, free speech and freedom of the press on campuses and in the streets to challenge the establishment, and eventually became the establishment. Since then, leftists have come up with numerous exceptions, including hate speech rules, hate crimes and other subjective schemes to label political opponents and restrict the same activities they themselves used to challenge those in power.
But they never had a magic wand like COVID-19 to make constitutional rights vanish.
What was originally sold to Americans as a two-week emergency curtailment of liberties to allow hospitals time to prepare for a promised wave of deaths and not be overrun has transformed into a stunning array of unlimited, punitive restrictions on even the smallest details of personal life, having little or nothing to do with the original justification.
The First Amendment protects Americans' rights to freedom of speech, to peaceably assemble and freedom of religion. Democrats have effectively abolished these freedoms based on the personal opinions or political ambitions of state and local officials. Michigan Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, facing protests of her never-ending restrictions, raged against her own citizens from protesting her orders. Minnesota's Democratic attorney general used coronavirus as a pretext for a last-minute limitation on attendance at a Trump campaign rally in Minneapolis. Americans in California, Nevada and New York are prohibited by Democratic government officials from attending church. We know these restrictions are naked partisan political efforts because leftist riots are not impacted, and exceptions are specifically granted for casinos, big box retailers, the liberal film industry and other favored constituents. Also telling is the fact these draconian restrictions are not in place in GOP-led states, with no catastrophic result. A magic virus, indeed.
Last week in Virginia, the Democratic attorney general effectively banned a gun show from taking place in the same way the Minnesota attorney general tried to cancel President Trump's rally: By limiting attendance to only 250 people. 25,000 were expected. There is no science indicating 250 attendees is a magic number past which COVID-19 will begin infecting people. Attorney General Mark Herring celebrated his victory over the Second Amendment in a tweet after a court refused an injunction stopping his order that effective canceled the event. He tweeted "selling guns is just not worth it," a remarkably vague personal opinion to be the basis for stopping the exercise of a constitutional right. Democrats, particularly those in Virginia, have long sought a way to circumvent the Second Amendment and curtail citizens' access to firearms. Coronavirus is their magic wand to make it happen.
The Fourth Amendment protects Americans' right to be secure in their homes and possessions, and prohibits warrantless searches (with limited exceptions such as consent or an emergency). As Democrats extend their coronavirus rules into Americans' homes with mask requirements and limitations on guests, this constitutional protection is under assault, too. New York City officials have tried to enter private property to check COVID compliance and promised to do so over the holidays. Democratic New York Mayor Bill de Blasio is recruiting private citizens to act as government agents, using their access to observe and inform on friends and family members suspected of violating his coronavirus diktats.
Coronavirus is such an effective all-purpose tool for liberals to exert control that its use extends beyond just circumventing the Constitution. Every conceivable social norm is being smashed by the left to impose their agenda under the guise of public health. Social media's banning of COVID "misinformation" in the spring and summer now appears to have been a trial run for the incredible banning and deletion of conservative political speech regarding the 2020 general election. Democrat officials have also used the magic wand of COVID-19 to keep schools closed and coordinate favorable policy with teachers' unions. Coronavirus can do anything!
The worst part of this shocking power grab is that the U.S. Supreme Court, incredibly, has given approval to these specifically anti-constitutional restrictions.
Either the coronavirus is so deadly that it necessitates the cancellation of the Constitution, or the virus somehow knows the difference between liberal constituencies, industries and events and ordinary Americans. In addition, proponents of these restrictions – including Dr. Anthony Fauci, California Gov. Gavin Newsome, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot and others – have personally ignored restrictions and been caught going about life as usual. All of these officials also continue drawing their paychecks, another privilege they deny many Americans with their policies.
Coronavirus is truly the magic wand that makes every liberal dream come true.
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